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Because You Left
'"Because You Left"' is the premiere episode of Season 5 of ''Lost and the eighty-seventh produced hour of the series as a whole. It was originally broadcast on January 21, 2009, and was followed immediately by . Jack and Ben attempt to assemble the Oceanic Six for a return to the Island while the survivors left behind on the island begin experiencing strange time shifts after the Island's move. Synopsis Previously on Lost * The Oceanic Six are rescued and taken to Hawaii. * At Santa Rosa, Sayid tells Hurley he is going to protect him and help him escape. * Sun suggests to Charles Widmore that she and him have common interests. She reminds him that the Oceanic Six were not the only ones who left the Island. * Jack tells Kate that the Oceanic Six have to go back. * At Hoffs/Drawlar, Ben and Jack agree that they must return to the Island and bring along John Locke's corpse. On the Island 1977 At 8:15 AM, a man hits the snooze button on his alarm clock. Next to him, an Asian woman hears a baby making noise from a crib in the other room and tells the man it's his turn to take care of the child. After putting on a record, he gives the baby a heated bottle of milk before getting ready for the day. When the record starts skipping, he turns the player off. ♪ The man walks to one of the other buildings in the Barracks, where a camera crew has set up to record the first take of the second DHARMA Initiative orientation film. He is revealed to be Dr. Pierre Chang. As the filming begins, Pierre identifies himself as Dr. Marvin Candle and begins to describe the Arrow's primary purpose, indicating that it involves protecting the DHARMA Initiative from the Island's hostile and indigenous inhabitants. Suddenly, Pierre is interrupted by a concerned worker named Eric, who barges into the room and says that there is a problem at the Orchid. Eric drives Dr. Chang to the Orchid in a DHARMA Initiative van, and they make their way past the construction workers and down in an elevator. ♪ Pierre puts on a hard hat and walks out into the subterranean station, which appears to be under construction. A foreman tells him that in the process of tunneling through a certain spot according to Dr. Chang's plans, six carbon drill bits have melted and a drill operator has been incapacitated. He shows Pierre the seemingly impenetrable rock wall while the drill operator lies on the ground nearby with a nosebleed. The foreman shows Chang a SONAR-image printout of the wall. It reveals the outline of the frozen wheel in an open chamber 20 meters behind the wall. As the foreman begins to outline his plan to blow through the rock and expose the inner chamber, Dr. Chang emphatically forbids the foreman to set explosives in the area for any reason whatsoever. He believes there is an incredible amount of power on the other side that will allow them to manipulate time. When the foreman asks incredulously if they will be able to travel to the past and assassinate Hitler, Pierre tells him not to be absurd, saying that there are rules which cannot be broken. Dr. Chang orders the foreman not to drill any more because doing so might allow the energy to escape, with potentially catastrophic results. Chang bumps into a worker as he leaves. The worker apologizes, and when he looks up, he is revealed to be Daniel Faraday, wearing a DHARMA Initiative jumpsuit with the name tag "Joe" on it. Between 2001 and 2004 Immediately after Ben turns the frozen wheel, a loud noise is heard and a flash lights up the sky above all the survivors who are still on the island. ♪ As the light dissipates, Locke realizes that it is suddenly raining, and Richard and the Others, along with their entire campsite, have vanished. Confused and alone, he shouts for anyone in earshot. On the Zodiac, Neil asks what the light was. Daniel, noting that they can still see the island, says that the raft "must have been inside the radius." On the beach, Juliet and Sawyer realize that the smoke from the freighter has vanished, leaving nothing behind. Sawyer tells Juliet that the helicopter was heading for the freighter. ♪ Bernard suddenly runs onto the beach yelling for Rose. He asks Juliet if shes seen her. She tells him she hasn't just as Rose comes running from the church, which she explains to Bernard when she reunites with him. ♪ Sawyer tries to calm them down, suggesting that they head back to the beach camp, but Bernard exclaims that the camp is gone. They walk with Bernard back to where the camp used to be. People are milling around, but there is no camp. Bernard explains that all of the tents are gone, along with the kitchen and all of their crucial supplies. Just then, Daniel arrives with the other survivors from the Zodiac, insisting that the camp is not gone. Charlotte embraces him in relief at his safe return. Dan asks Juliet to quickly take him to something manmade on the Island. Juliet tells him that there is a DHARMA station - albeit one that imploded - 15 minutes from the camp. Daniel is prepared to leave immediately, before the flash of light has a chance to happen again. When Sawyer prods him about his statement about the camp, he replies "Your camp isn't gone. It hasn't been built yet." As Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Charlotte and Miles head toward the Swan, Sawyer demands that Faraday explain what is happening. Dan compares the Island to a record that is skipping. The Island is now "dislodged" in time, and either the Island or the survivors are now moving through time. Sounding concerned, he asks if the survivors' group is all accounted for. Sawyer says no, realizing that Locke is unaccounted for (Claire is missing as well, though no one mentions her). Meanwhile, while climbing a hill, Locke narrowly misses being struck by a damaged, low-flying plane, which then crashes in the jungle. Finding a Virgin Mary statue that had fallen from the plane, he realizes that the plane is the Beechcraft that he and Boone later found in the jungle. ♪ Locke arrives at the crash site and tries to climb up the cliff to the plane, shouting for survivors, but he is cut short by gunfire from the jungle below. One of the bullets hits him in the leg and he falls to the ground, stunned. The shooter runs out of the jungle and reveals himself to be Ethan. Assuming that Locke was on the plane, he demands to know how many others were onboard. Locke tries to explain who he is, that he wasn't on the plane, that he knows who Ethan is, and that he was appointed by Ben as the leader of the Others. Ethan simply says that this is ridiculous and prepares to shoot him. Suddenly the white light appears again, though Ethan does not appear to notice it, and for Locke the day suddenly turns to night. Day 4 (Ajira crash) Locke sees that the Beechcraft is now decaying on the ground, where it fell when Boone climbed inside. ♪ Elsewhere, the group arrives at the Swan, ♪ which is still a crater in the ground, prompting them to conclude that they're back in what should be the present. Sawyer argues that they could change the past by stopping Jack and the others from launching the helicopter, which they believe crashed in the ocean. Faraday, however, is adamant that the past is like a street - one can move back and forth along it, but not change it. As Locke lies barely able to move, Richard arrives holding a torch and a first-aid kit. Richard removes the bullet from Locke's leg, explaining that he (Locke) told him where to come - or rather will tell him. Richard gives John a compass that he must give back to Richard the next time he sees him, saying "I won't recognize you." He also tells John that the only way to save the Island is to get those who left to come back, and in order to do that, he will have to die. ♪ Between 2001 and 2004 Another flash occurs and the hiking group realizes that the crater has disappeared. Juliet uncovers the hatch in the ground, now intact, as Locke and Boone originally discovered it. ♪ The group quickly moves to the rear entrance and Sawyer repeatedly knocks on the door, but nobody responds. ♪ Faraday reiterates that Sawyer won't be able to meet Desmond because Desmond didn't remember meeting him in the past, and that he can't change whatever happened in the past. Frustrated, Sawyer reminds Daniel that he just lost all of his friends on the helicopter and not to tell him about things he can't change. ♪♪ After everyone else leaves for the beach, however, Faraday goes back and knocks on the Swan door himself. ♪ Desmond opens the door, armed and wearing a HAZMAT suit. Faraday tells Desmond that he is uniquely special, and that only he can help them because "the rules" don't apply to him. Daniel instructs a confused Desmond to seek out his mother in Oxford if he escapes the Island. As he is about to say his mother's name, another flash occurs, once more causing a timeshift. Unlike Ethan and Richard when they were talking to Locke, Desmond appears to have been able to see and hear the flash. Off the Island Inside the Hoffs/Drawlar Funeral Parlor where "Jeremy Bentham's" funeral was held, Ben asks Jack to close Locke's casket so that they can put it in the van out back. Jack inquires as to where they are going to take John, but Ben tells him that they must first pick up Hurley. Jack informs Ben that Hurley is in the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. Jack wonders aloud how they could have all become so estranged, and Ben responds coldly, "It happened because you left, Jack." ♪ Later, Jack shaves his beard off in a hotel room. Ben says that they'll need to recruit all the others, though Jack has doubts. Ben reveals that he has not seen Locke since the day the Six left. ♪ Jack mentions that Locke told him he had to return, otherwise everyone back on the island would die. ♪ Ben asks Jack if Locke told him what happened to those they left behind, but the answer is no. Ben simply remarks "then I guess we'll never know." ♪ In Los Angeles, Kate is visited by Dan Norton, an attorney working for an unknown client. Norton claims to have a court order to conduct a blood test to determine if Aaron is actually Kate's child. Kate refuses to allow the test and tells Norton to leave, which he does, saying that he will be back with a sheriff. Kate frantically packs a bag, grabbing an envelope of cash and a gun. She tells Aaron that they are going "on vacation" before picking him up and leaving. ♪ At Heathrow Airport in London, Sun attempts to fly to Los Angeles via Oceanic Airlines, but finds herself locked in a room by airport security. Charles Widmore reveals himself as her captor, saying that he is angry that she had the "audacity" to approach him without showing "respect" in London, but he still wishes to talk about their "common interests." When asked what exactly those interests are, Sun replies, "to kill Benjamin Linus." In their hotel room, Ben and Jack see a television news report about Hurley's escape from Santa Rosa after apparently murdering a man. Ben realizes that their plan has just become more complicated. Meanwhile, Hurley and Sayid stop at a fast food restaurant before going to the safe house, which is in an apartment building. Hurley asks Sayid about the man Sayid killed outside Santa Rosa. Sayid doesn't know who the man was, but said that he was an enemy. When Hurley comments on Sayid's paranoia, Sayid reveals that he has been working for Ben Linus and cautions Hurley that, if Linus ever tells him to do anything, he should do the exact opposite. Sayid notices that a piece of tape that he'd placed on the door to the room has been broken, indicating that someone has entered the safe house. One man attacks Sayid at the door, and Sayid quickly kills him by throwing him over the balcony. Another man attacks him inside; Sayid kills him too, but not before he is shot with an anesthetizing dart, which renders him unconscious a moment later. A passerby notices the dead body of the first man, and takes a picture of Hurley with a gun in his hand and covered in what appears to be blood, but is actually ketchup. Hurley runs inside, rescues Sayid, and the two escape. Finally, on a sailing boat with Penny in an unknown location, Desmond wakes up, remembering what Faraday told him. While Penny brushes off the experience as a bad dream, Desmond insists that it was a real memory. He sets off for Oxford to find Daniel's mother. ♪ Trivia * A green ceramic alien head is visible under the stereo on the shelf as Pierre Chang walks into the Barracks recreation room and films the orientation film for the Arrow. * The Arrow filming includes workers sporting the main DHARMA logo: Fern ("crew"), Jay ("worker"), and presumably Kyker (the director named on the clapper board, a likely reference to Lost property master, Rob Kyker who also played Jacob for a time). They are interrupted by Eric ("construction") and meet Tony ("construction") and Faraday, dressed as Joe ("construction"). *Penelope and Desmond are both seen wearing wedding rings in the final scenes, indicating that they marry after being reunited. *When Desmond and Daniel are talking, and the flash is just about to happen, Desmond seems to notice the noise and bright sky right before the time shift. The other non-Survivors this episode, Ethan and Richard, didn't seem to notice anything. Desmond most likely can see/hear the flash because he is "special." *The scene from the opening of the episode was seen from a different perspective in . *The scene of Richard treating Locke's wound was seen from a different perspective in . *The clock in the airport security holding room reads 9:22 pm, which is the date of the Oceanic 815 crash — 9/22. *This episode is rated TV-14-LV. Production notes * There is a new shot shown in the recap at the beginning of this episode that features an overhead view of the US Coast Guard plane as the Oceanic Six are greeted by their family members. That shot was not featured in any aired or otherwise officially released version of . It was, however, also featured in the clip show that preceded this episode. * This episode marks the first time Pierre Chang appears outside a DHARMA video on the show. * Neil "Frogurt" makes his first appearance on the show after previously only being mentioned in and starring in the Lost: Missing Pieces mobisode . *According to DarkUFO, the opening scene of was originally intended to be the opening scene of this episode. The roles of Caesar and Ilana were originally cast for the season premiere because of that. Supposedly, the new opening scene with Pierre Chang and Daniel Faraday (from ) was added later, after it was decided to use the scene following the crash of Ajira Airways Flight 316 as part of instead.http://darkufo.blogspot.com/2009/02/season-5-opening-scene-was-altered.html * The season premiere featured nine local actors in the two back-to-back episodes.http://spoilerslost.blogspot.com/2009/01/lost-returns.html * Together with , had the highest ratings of the Season 5 episodes on ABC, with a total of 13.316 million viewers. * An audio commentary by producers/writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse is available for this episode on the Season 5 DVD. ** According to the audio commentary, the scene where Daniel explains the Island skipping like a record was originally going to take place much later in the episode. The scene was re-shot and added earlier in the episode at a later date. This was because the producers felt the viewers would be less confused when given an explanation earlier in the episode. * In the "Building 23 & Beyond with Michael Emerson" featurette on the season 5 DVD, a writer's board notes this episode as Jack and Locke centric. Bloopers and continuity errors *When the alarm clock goes off in the opening scene, the alarm itself isn't actually set. The alarm is set on the left-side of the clock and is set to 12:00. *When Chang films the Arrow Orientation Video, he is wearing a lab coat with the Swan logo. This is inconsistent with the other videos, in which he wears a lab coat with the logo of the station for which he is shooting the video. * When Locke witnesses the Beechcraft crash, the view of the Island behind him is far larger than anything confirmed by Danielle's maps, survivor dialogue about Island distances or DHARMA knowledge. * On the zodiac raft, Steve Jenkins and another unnamed background extra played by Steve Tanizaki were visible immediately before the Island moved in , but when the sky turns normal again in this episode, both Steve and the unnamed extra are missing. Furthermore, they appear to have been replaced by Neil "Frogurt", who was not seen on the raft in . * When the Island moves, Locke covers his face with his left arm; but when the flash finishes, the scene has been flipped which makes it appear as if he has his right arm up. * Sun's passport is displayed in an unlikely format: :* Adobe Photoshop CS2 in Windows XP is shown as being document scanning software. :* The network connection icons in the lower right corner of the display indicate that the computer is connected to neither a WLAN or LAN connection. :* There are many inconsistencies between the human-readable information and the machine-readable zone of the passport:Machine Readable Passport Zones ::* SKA is not a valid ISO code; it should have been KOR. ::* Her birthday is encoded as April 4, 1972. ::* Her nationality is encoded as Japan. ::* Her passport expiry is encoded as May 31, 2006, although the human-readable part shows 2011. ::*The computer's time display does not match the time seen on a wall clock a few seconds later. :* The passport was issued in 2001; it is extremely unlikely that Sun managed to keep her original passport throughout her time on the island. * When the witness takes a picture of Hurley with the gun, the man Sayid threw over the railing is shown in a different position than the one in which he landed. * Desmond opens the Swan door to answer Daniel's knocking wearing the HAZMAT suit. However, Kelvin never let him out of the hatch. Desmond knew he did not have to wear anything when following Kelvin in * The rip in Desmond's HAZMAT suit is now on the left leg, as opposed to when it was on Kelvin's right leg in . * Desmond is lowering the anchor into the water during the final scene instead of raising it. *In the footage of the waiting family members in the family members were shown gathered at the back of the C-130; in the long shot in this episode, they were lined up along the side of the fuselage. Music The Season 5 soundtrack includes the track "Making Up for Lost Time" from this episode. Analysis Recurring themes * The people on the Island are skipping through time. * In the beginning of the episode, the alarm goes off at 8:15. * Someone is suspicious of Aaron's parentage. * Juliet tells Daniel that the Swan is a 15-minute walk from the camp. * Desmond meets Daniel for the second linear time before Daniel arrived on the Island from the Freighter. * As Sun goes down the escalator at the airport, the woman on the intercom mentions flight 23 to Paris at Gate 15. * Daniel tricks the other people into leaving him alone at the Hatch, so that he can speak to Desmond alone. * The DHARMA orientation films are filmed in the Barracks recreation room using costumes and props to make it appear that Pierre Chang is in a study or office. * It rains after the island moves. * Dogs are barking as Sayid and Hurley reach the safehouse. * Desmond recalls his hidden memories in the form of a dream. * Sun is locked in a room at the airport. * Locke finds himself (once more) isolated from everybody he knows, except occasionally from Richard. * Sawyer calls Daniel "Danny Boy" and "Dilbert," and Charlotte "Ginger." Kate calls Aaron "Goober." * In order to save everybody on the Island, Locke will presumably have to die, according to Richard. * The name of the law firm hired to get blood samples from Kate and Aaron in order to find out if Aaron really is Kate's son, is "Agostini and Norton" - an anagram for "Aaron isn't, don't go in." * Pierre Chang says DHARMA has plans to harness the Island's energy in order to manipulate time. Cultural references * "Shotgun Willie": Pierre Chang puts on this 1973 song by Willie Nelson, from the album of the same name. * Hitler: One of the DHARMA construction workers proposes to use the time effects of the Orchid to kill Hitler. Adolf Hitler was the leader of the German Nazi Party. He was the ruler of Germany from 1933 to 1945. * A Christmas Carol: Sawyer calls himself the "Ghost of Christmas Future," a reference to one of the spirits who visits Ebenezer Scrooge in this book by Charles Dickens. Published in 1843, A Christmas Carol is considered by some to be the first depiction of time travel in a novel. * Gilligan's Island: Sawyer calls Charlotte "Ginger" after he slaps Daniel Faraday. Ginger is a reference to ginger-haired Ginger Grant, a character on Gilligan's Island, a classic U.S. television show about a group of people that were stranded on a tropical island. The character had a bit of an attitude (like Charlotte) and hung out with a brainy professor (like Faraday). * Dilbert: Sawyer calls Daniel Faraday "Dilbert" when Faraday tries to convince him of the futility of his plan to enter the Swan station through the "back door" to stock up on supplies. Dilbert is the main character of an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams who, like Faraday, is consummately dressed in a white shirt with a black tie. * Futurama: Daniel gives the analogy of the time skips being like a record player skipping. In the episode "Time Keeps on Slipping" from this animated sci-fi sitcom, Professor Farnsworth gives the same analogy for a similar event. Both men are scientists who are considered crazy. * "Danny Boy": While questioning why Faraday knows so much about everything that is going on, Sawyer calls Faraday "Danny Boy," a reference to this Irish ballad. This song is often sung at funerals and is considered to be an unofficial Irish song. In the episode , Sawyer had a brief conversation with Jack about taking "the Irish drink" after someone dies, even though neither men are Irish. Literary techniques * The episode begins with a record skipping, which is later used as a metaphor by Daniel for how the Island is moving through time. * The beginning of the episode is similar to the beginning of Seasons 2 and 3. In all of these episodes we're introduced to an unknown person we're not able to recognize at first. The person then turns on some music and begins to do some daily activities. Furthermore all of the season beginnings starts off slowly and calm, but is at some point interrupted by something chaotic, such as Jack running to the crash site in Season 1, the hatch door being dynamited in Season 2, Flight 815 crashing in Season 3, and Hurley blasting through the pile of fruits in Season 4. * Faraday insists that they can't stop the time flashes, and Sawyer asks him who can; Faraday doesn't respond, but the scene immediately cuts to Locke. Locke later stops the time flashes by turning the frozen wheel in . * Locke's fall from the tree and landing on his back parallels his fall from the hotel window. He lies there initially in fear that he is paralyzed again. This was also the same place that he partially lost the use of his legs again, after finding the plane for the first time. * When Locke is separated from the Others, he is left in the jungle with nothing but a knife and his wits; literally the situation he longed for in . * Aaron is watching a cartoon with several vehicles rushing frantically, foreshadowing Kate's running away quickly after being pressed by the attorney Dan Norton. * The foreman expressed disbelief at the idea of time travel to Daniel, who agrees, covering the fact that he is actually a time traveler. * After trying to settle down, Kate becomes a fugitive again. * Daniel is moved through time at the exact moment he was about to say the name of his mother, whom Desmond shall meet at Oxford University. As such, the name is never revealed. * Richard says, "What comes around goes around," in reference to Locke being shot by Ethan. It was Ethan who was shot and killed by the survivors. * Richard treats Locke for his gunshot wound, telling him he's bleeding to death, therefore saving his life. Shortly after, Richard tells Locke that Locke must die. * Pierre Chang says "God help us all" to the DHARMA foreman in the Orchid. * At the Swan, Sawyer tells Desmond twice to "Open this damn door!" * Desmond at the Swan asks Faraday, "Are you him?" * Daniel tells Desmond that he is "special." * Pierre's record starts skipping just as the singer sings the line "can't make a record if you." Storyline analysis * Sayid kills two men in the safe house. * Juliet and Sawyer are seen as new leading figures for the castaways. * Ethan is told that, according to Ben Linus, Locke is supposed to be the new leader of Ethan's people. * Even though Sayid works for Ben, he warns Hugo against him, telling Hugo to always do the exact opposite of what Linus says. * Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, Sawyer and Juliet journey to the Swan. Episode connections Episode references *Pierre Chang is filming the Orientation film for The Arrow * When Locke explains to Richard that Ethan shot him, Richard replies "What comes around goes around," presumably referencing to Charlie shooting Ethan. We saw Charlie shoot Ethan before Ethan shot Locke, though Ethan shot Locke first. * The Beechcraft arrival is finally seen. * Sawyer refers to the Swan being blown up. * Sayid tells Hurley he was working for Ben. *Following his note, "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant," Faraday establishes Desmond as his constant. * Daniel tells Desmond to go back to "where we met." *Juliet asks Sawyer why he jumped from the helicopter. *Widmore refers to his last meeting with Sun. Episode allusions * Chang and Faraday reference "rules that can't be broken" regarding time travel. *A picture of Jack and Aaron together can be seen in Kate's home. *Ben tells Jack that bad things are happening "because you left." *Workers at the Orchid are shown drilling into the wheel chamber. Unanswered questions *Why do the rules of time not apply to Desmond? References External links *ABC Medianet Press Release (12/31/08): Press release da:Because You Left de:5.01 Weil du gegangen bist es:Because You Left fr:5x01 it:L'assenza e il vuoto pl:Because You Left pt:Because You Left ru:Потому что вас нет zh:Because You Left Category:Episodes Category:Season 5 Category:Season premieres Category:Episodes that are Rated TV-14-LV